I became queasy. “What do you mean?”

“You’ll see.”
        I decided to believe that my sister was only pulling a prank as she had done throughout my life.  I slowly walked to the back porch expecting to see the head of wavy auburn hair that framed the shining blue eyes and the smile that was the light for any room.  Instead, I found a woman I no longer knew.  My aunt was slumped in a chair, her hair was limp and there was very little of it.  She barely raised her eyes.  Her gray complexion only made the small amount of life remaining in her eyes difficult to see.  I leaned over and gave her a kiss and hug. “I am so happy to be back with you.” I waited for a response but none came.  She just stared.  Numbness began to climb up my torso.  I felt confused.  It couldn’t be happening.  I wondered if I hadn’t walked out of the reality of life right smack dab in the middle of a horror movie.  A few minutes later, she murmured, “We can talk, can’t we?”  Her face showed no expression.  Trying to recover from the shock, I weakly said, “Yes. Yes, we can.”  Her appearance was incredulous.  It was difficult to respond.  After brief silence, I went back to my room that had always remained open for me when I came to visit during summers. 
       I felt numb and began questioning why I had made the decision to return to the place of my birth to care for my aunt.  Even though she had provided the love and admiration that was the foundation for me loving me, I was afraid the emotional pain would be so severe that I might not recover.  However, her love for me when I wasn’t loved, kept the flame alive within me.  That was reason enough.  Not only did it tell me I was worthy of life, but it also taught me about my heritage. My Magnolia’s strength had been zapped by a parasite that was eating away her brain.  However, she was not only my aunt, but my savior too.